NYSE Operator Sold|for $8.2 Billion

MANHATTAN (CN) – The operator of the New York Stock Exchange, NYSE Euronext, agreed this morning to sell itself to the Intercontinental Exchange for $8.2 billion, wire services are reporting. The Intercontinental Exchange, based in Atlanta, will pay $33.12 a share for NYSE Euronext, according to wire reports. Both company boards approved the deal unanimously. It will close in the second half of 2013, if U.S. and European regulators, and shareholders, approve. The Intercontinental Exchange is a 12-year-old company. NYSE stock was up 10 percent before Wall Street opened.